Pressurized storage container

ABSTRACT

A container for holding contents under air pressure wherein the container comprises a body and a cap with the body connecting by a threaded connection to the cap, the threaded connection including a stop so with the body completely threaded into the cap the inner end of the body is slightly spaced from the closed end of the cap, an O-ring seal mounted upon the body adjacent the inner end thereof, an inwardly extending annular flange formed upon the cap adjacent the closed end thereof, with the body completely threaded into the cap the flange engages the seal to establish an airtight connection between the cap and body, upon initial location of the cap upon the body an airtight connection is established therebetween and as the cap is tightened upon the body, air pressure is caused to increase within the container and maintained due to the interaction between the flange and the seal.

United States Patent [1 1 Coons 1 1 PRESSURIZED STORAGE CONTAINER Gex B.Coons. 5641 Colfax Ave. North Hollywood. Calif. 9160] 122] Filed: June10,1974

[2]] Appl. No.: 477,603

[76] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 206/315; 215/352; 220/304; 220/378 [51] Int. Cl... 365d41/04; 865d 53/02; 865d 85/00 [58] Field of Search..... 206/315;215/270, 341-346 215/352; 220/8, 254, 304. 357-358. 378;

Primary Exuminerwilliam 1, Price Assistant E.\'uminer-Steven E. LipmanAllurney, Agent or F1'rmRobert E. Geauque Aug. 5, 1975 I57] ABSTRACT Acontainer for holding contents under air pressure wherein the containercomprises a body and a cap with the body connecting by a threadedconnection to the cap the threaded connection including a stop so withthe body completely threaded into the cap the inner end of the body isslightly spaced from the closed end of the cap, an O-ring seal mountedupon the body adjacent the inner end thereof, an inwardly extendingannular flange formed upon the cap adja cent the closed end thereof,with the body completely threaded into the cap the flange engages theseal to establish an airtight connection between the cap and body. uponinitial location of the cap upon the body an airtight connection isestablished therebetween and as the cap is tightened upon the body. airpressure is caused to increase within the container and maintained dueto the interaction between the flange and the seal 7 Claims. 4 DrawingFigures PRESSURIZED STORAGE CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention is an improvement of US. Pat. No. 3,819,040, entitledPRESSURIZED STORAGE CON- TAINER, by the present inventor,

Tennis balls are manufactured to close specifications in order to have auniform product for use anywhere in the world. One of thesespecifications is that the ball must have a bounce between 53 inches and58 inches when dropped on a concrete surface from 100 inches in height.In order to meet this specification and other specifications, tennisballs are made with a relatively thin wall of elastomeric material,covered on the out side with a felt fuzz, and filled with gas (such asair) under pressure. The halls are usually packaged in groups of threein a container having sufficient pressure to substantially equalize thepressure in the balls. This method of packaging maintains the physicalcharacteristic of the balls until the container is opened. At this timethe fresh balls begin to age in a primary way, that being the gradualescape of internal gas through the thin wall of the ball at all timesand also the acceleration of this escape when the ball is hit with aracket.

The importance of having tennis balls with uniform physicalcharacteristics must not be minimized. Those who are serious tennisplayers, either the relatively few competitors in tournaments or themany more competitors in recreational play, appreciate the feel ofstriking a good ball with a racket. It is well known that old defectiveballs will not go where they are hit and that in trying to compensatefor the deficiencies in an old ball, a player will often ruin a goodstroke that has been developed with much practice. Some of the bestplayers would rather not play at all rather than play with defectiveballs.

Once the tennis ball pressurized container which is in common use hasbeen opened, the balls which are not being used and are located in thatcontainer begin their deterioration. Also, once a ball has been used, itwould be desirable to relocate the used ball in a pressurized atmospherein order to decrease the balls deterioration.

In the past, there have been several types of containers which have beenproposed for such use. However, such previously known containers arecomplex in construction and therefore costly to manufacture and alsorequire to be connected with a source of pressurized gas once thecontainer is reclosed. As a result, such containers have not achievedany significant commercial success and as of the present day, norepressurizing type of container is known to be employed whichrepressurizes by interconnecting members.

The pressurization which is required in the containers in which theballs are sold is approximately 13 pounds per square inch. This pressureis not so significantly high as to require a separate pressurizingapparatus to be connected with the container to repressurize thecontainer. It is one object of this invention to employ the use of apressurizing means incorporated with the container which can be readilyapplied manually.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The container of this invention provides for abody portion and a cap portion. Once the cap portion is initiallyinserted upon the body portion, an air-tight connection is establishedtherebetween through an O-ring seal mounted upon the body, closing offthe interior of the body portion of the container to the ambient. Meansare provided between the cap and the body portion such as a threadingarrangement which permits the cap to be tightened upon the body. As aresult. the volume of the space within the body portion of the containeris decreased. This decreasing of the volume causes a compression of thegas, which is normally air, within the body. The arrangement between thecap and the body is such so that with the cap completely tightened uponthe body, the pressurization of the gas within the body will beapproximately [3 pounds per square inch. Therefore, the tennis ballswhich are to be located within the container will again be placed withina pressurized environment. Means are provided between the cap and bodyto maintain and prevent leakage of the established pressurizedenvironment, such means being described in the Abstract of the Disclosure and reference is to be had thereto,

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is an isometric view of thecontainer of this invention showing the cap disassociated from the body;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the container of this invention showing the capcompletely closed about the body;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the container of this inventiontaken along line 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of FIG, 3showing the means to maintain the pressurization of the container ofthis invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SHOWN EMBODIMENT Referring particularly tothe drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 the container 10 ofthis inventionwhich is basically composed of a cap 12 and a body I4. The body 14includes an interior chamber 16 which is adapted to receive a plurality(normally three in number) of tennis balls 18. However, it is to beunderstood that although this invention is described in reference to theuse of tennis balls, it is considered that the apparatus of thisinvention may be employed for other types of game balls or to pressurizeother types of contents. The device of this invention could be readilyused for handballs and racquet balls with the container body and capbeing scaled to provide the required pressure.

The cap 12 also includes an interior chamber 20. The size of chamber 20is just slightly larger than the body I4 so that body 14 can betelescopingly received in chamber 20 establishing a close interfitbetween body 14 and cap I2. An O-ring seal 22 is mounted within anannular groove 23 formed in body 14 adjacent the inner end 25. Seal 22is formed of a conventional resilierit material such as rubber. Thepurpose of the seal 22 is to insure that an airtight connection isestablished between the cap I2 and the body 14 when the cap 12 isinserted upon the body 14.

Located within chamber 20 adjacent the closed end of cap 12 is aninwardly extending annular flange 29. The function of flange 29 will beexplained further on in the specification.

Secured to the cap 12 within the chamber 20 is an internal thread 24.Fixedly mounted upon the body 14 is a thread 26. Threads 24 and 26cooperate together to move body 14 within cap 12. The inner end ofthread 24 terminates in a stop 27. With thread 26 in contact with stop27, the inner end 25 is just slightly spaced from the closed end of cap12 forming a gap therebetween. In this position the O-ring seal 22 istightly pressed against flange 29 and actually deforms slightly(approximately nine thousandths of an inch). This pro duces an extremelyair-tight connection between cap 12 and body 14 and prevents leakage ofthe pressurized air from chamber 20. In essence. the cooperation betweenthe flange 29 and the seal 22 is a secondary seal with the primary sealbeing the O-ring seal 22 in tight contact with the wall of section 30.As illustrated by the dotted line position of the groove 23 and O-ringseal 22 in FIG. 4, the O-ring seal 22 seals against the wall section 30as it moves to its upper full line position in FIG. 4.

The operation of the container of this invention is as follows: A persongrasps both the body 14 and the cap 12 and causes a turning movement tooccur there between by the application of manual force. Turning of thebody [4 in respect to the cap 12 is facilitated by gripping area 15 onbody 14 and gripping area 13 on cap 12. This causes the thread 24 to bemoved along the thread 26 until the cap 12 can be disassociated from thebody 14. It is to be noted that the depressuration of the chamber 16 isaccomplished gradually and no ejecting of the cap 12 is caused. Once thecap 12 has been removed from the open end of body 14, the ball (orballs) 18 which is stored within the chamber 20 can be readily removed.

Let it be assumed that only a single ball 18 has been removed from thechamber 20. The operator then relo cates the cap 12 upon the bodyportion 14 so that thread 24 becomes coupled with the thread 26. ln thisinitial position an air-tight seal is established between the O-ring 22and the smaller diameter section of the cap [2. It is to be noted thatthe diameter of the thread 24 is equal to or greater than the diameterof the section 20 in order to permit passage of the O ring 22 past thethread 24. With the air-tight connection being initially establishedbetween the cap 12 and the body 14 as the cap 12 is rotated about thebody 14, a recompression occurs within the chamber 16. The longitudi nalmovement of the cap 12 upon the body [4 is preselected so that thecompression of the gas within the chamber 16 is to the value ofapproximately 13 pounds per square inch with three balls located in thechamber 16. Therefore. the balls which are not in use and are beingretained within the chamber 16 are not caused to deteriorate but arestored in a satisfactory pressurized environment. New tennis balls arepressurized internally to a value of about 13 psi It is to be understoodthat with one or two balls removed from chamber 16, a pressurization ofless than the initial 13 psi would resultv However, a partial pressurization is better than no pressurization.

At the time the operator decides to relocate the ball that is being usedwithin the container 10, the container 10 is opened, the ball insertedin the container 10 and then closed. This causes a pressurization of thegas within chamber 16 and prevents the ball that was used fromdeteriorating as well as the unused balls.

What is claimed is:

l. A pressurized container comprising:

a body having an interior chamber to be pressurized;

a rigid cap for compressing air in said interior chamher, said cap beinglongitudinally and bodily movable relative to said body from an initialposition to a completely closed position;

first means located between said cap and said body to establish anair-tight connection therebetween. said first means causes establishmentof said airtight connection when said cap and body are in said initialposition and maintains said air-tight connection during movement of saidcap in either direc tion between said completely closed position andsaid initial position. thereby resulting in gradual change in pressurein said interior chamber as said cap moves in either direction betweensaid positions. said first means including pressure maintaining means.said pressure maintaining means connects with said first means only whensaid cap is in said completely closed position thereby insuringsubstantial non-leakage over a period of time of the pressurized airwithin said interior chamber; and

second means mounted on both said cap and said body. said second meanscapable of interlocking to effect movement from said initial position tosaid completely closed position and to result in securement of said capupon said body in said completely closed position.

2. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein:

both said body and cap being cylindrical in configuration;

said second means comprises a threaded arrangement including a firstthread mounted upon said cap and a second thread mounted upon said body.

3. The container as defined within claim 2 wherein:

said first thread is on the interior surface of said cap and said secondthread is on the exterior surface of said body, said threads becomingcoupled at said initial position and remaining coupled during movementof said cap to said completely closed position.

4. The container as defined in claim 3 wherein:

said first means comprises an O-ring seal which is formed of a resilientmaterial, said seal being located between said second means and saidinterior chamber for all positions of said cap between said initialposition and said completely closed position.

5. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein:

said first means comprises an O-ring seal which is formed of a resilientmaterial, said seal being located between said second means and saidinterior chamber for all positions of said cap between said initialposition and said completely closed position.

6. The container as defined in claim 5 wherein said pressure maintainingmeans comprises:

said O-ring seal being mounted within said body adjacent the open end ofsaid body, an annular flange attached to said cap, said annular flangeprotruding into said chamber, said annular flange contacting said O-ringseal when said container is in said completely closed position.

7. The container as defined in claim 5 wherein said pressure maintainingmeans comprises:

said O-ring seal being mounted within said body adja cent the open endof said body, an annular flange attached to said cap. said annularflange protruding into said chamber, said annular flange contacting saidO-ring seal when said container is in said completely closed position.

l k k =0

1. A pressurized container comprising: a body having an interior chamberto be pressurized; a rigid cap for compressing air in said interiorchamber, said cap being longitudinally and bodily movable relative tosaid body from an initial position to a completely closed position;first means located between said cap and said body to establish anair-tight connection therebetween, said first means causes establishmentof said air-tight connection when said cap and body are in said initialposition and maintains said air-tight connection during movement of saidcap in either direction between said completely closed position and saidinitial position, thereby resulting in gradual change in pressure insaid interior chamber as said cap moves in either direction between saidpositions, said first means including pressure maintaining means, saidpressure maintaining means connects with said first means only when saidcap is in said completely closed position thereby insuring substantialnon-leakage over a period of time of the pressurized air within saidinterior chamber; and second means mounted on both said cap and saidbody, said second means capable of interlocking to effect movement fromsaid initial position to said completely closed position and to resultin securement of said cap upon said body in said completely closedposition.
 2. The container as defined in claim 1 wherein: both said bodyand cap being cylindrical in configuration; said second means comprisesa threaded arrangement including a first thread mounted upon said capand a second thread mounted upon said body.
 3. The container as definedwithin claim 2 wherein: said first thread is on the interior surface ofsaid cap and said second thread is on the exterior surface of said body,said threads becoming coupled at said initial position and remainingcoupled during movement of said cap to said completely closed position.4. The container as defined in claim 3 wherein: said first meanscomprises an O-ring seal which is formed of a resilient material, saidseal being located between said second means and said interior chamberfor all positions of said cap between said initial position and saidcompletely closed position.
 5. The container as defined in claim 1wherein: said first means comprises an O-ring seal which is formed of aresilient material, said seal being located between said second meansand said interior chamber for all positions of said cap between saidinitial position and said completely closed position.
 6. The containeras defined in claim 5 wherein said pressure maintaining means comprises:said O-ring seal being mounted within said body adjacent the open end ofsaid body, an annular flange attached to said cap, said annular flangeprotruding into said chamber, said annular flange contacting said O-ringseal when said container is in said completely closed position.
 7. Thecontainer as defined in claim 5 wherein said pressure maintaining meanscomprises: said O-ring seal being mounted within said body adjacent theopen end of said body, an annular flange attached to said cap, saidannular flange protruding into said chamber, said annular flangecontacting said O-ring seal when said container is in said completelyclosed position.